For a rock that size to break, I’m thinking something like breaking the sound barrier.. Krakoooom!
(Page looks awesome.. but I’m running out of ways to express the sheer awesomeness of these pages Scott! )

FWOOM
Is the sound I heard in my head. Its used in most Dragon Rider stories to describe the air being pressed by the larger beasts. As for the rock…never heard a rock break before. I’d go with JakesDad’s suggestion!
Also, really epic looking scene here!

Scott, I have to agree with the above two comments. This page is epic enough without sound effects. To put in a sound effect word would take away from the absolutely epic visual effect you’ve created here.

I heard “Kracka-BOOM” as a sound effect and the slight “fwoosh” of Nic’s wings as he lifts off to the background music of the loudly crackling fire/wood from the village snapping and the slight flaps as the fabric falling off the cliffs succumbs to gravity and begins it’s downward descent.

No, I really didn’t think hard about it, that’s just what I mentally heard

Well the rock doesn’t break, that is what happens when it resists a cut. Alex his sword does actually cuts the rock in 2 like a hit knife trough butter. So we should be looking for a buttercut sound :p

As not to clutter up Monday’s page, perhaps having the impact of the sound hitting the onlookers in the following page would be a solution. Certainly we should see a little of their reaction, and the massive effect on the local environment.

I guess in most comics Alex would have been yelling a warcry as he jumped on the previous page, and he’d still be yelling on this page. Something along the lines of “Graaaaa—” “—aghhh!!!!” or even “Yeeeee—” “-haaahhhhh!”

But I think sound effects on this page would just add needless clutter. It feels a little awkward as is, but I think that’s because Nic and Alex don’t seem to be moving–Nic is kind of hovering motionless in the air, and Alex seems to have gotten his sword stuck in a rock. If this were a movie, this would be the bit where everything slows to a crawl and sound effects magnify, to emphasize the really cool thing happening onscreen. But in a comic, you’d have to render this scene over about 10 pages to get that slowdown effect to work while retaining a sense of movement.

Adding sound effects would be a cheap way to add movement to the page, but maybe what the page needs is some visual effects instead.

Or not. In a sense, this action scene is being rendered as a portrait, and there’s something appealing about that too.

Just my personal thoughts, but something along the lines of SHH-CRACK! came to mind, the sound of the sword being swung through air and then the report as it hit the rock and split it. Best thing of this, Nic looks like he’s kinda in a “oh BRING IT!” stance there. XD

I second that one.
For me it was the like one of those moments where there is noise but you don’t here anything but the thing you want to beat the crap out off. In short the big dragon going Hey boy looking I’m right here come on how can you miss me

You’ve got that resounding boom at the end from the canyon’s effect on echoes, you’ve got that initial slicing of the sword and perhaps the sound of its sharpness initially penetrating the rock without a clang, and then in the middle you’ve got the rock’s response to being split open at only one point with a downward-moving energy, causing it to crack apart. I leave the choice of onomatopoeia in your capable hands.

Beautiful page. I think the artwork speaks for itself. Good choice of no dialogue, inner monologue, or specific sounds. On first view my mind heard the giant flap of Nicodemus’ wings, the cracking of broken timber from the altar, the snap of the breaking pillar, the distant crackle of fire, and the trickle of smaller rocks falling from the pillar and hitting on their way down. Again a beautiful page. You may want to make a print available of this one =-)

Quick question: did the rock split because Alex just missed Nick and hit the rock with the “cut through anything” sword, or because of the force of Nick’s takeoff, or a combination of the two? (The impression I got was the first one, but I figured I’d ask for clarification just in case … )

And thanks for the Vote button; I don’t have to post the Vote Link now, yay!

*votes* … As much as I dislike “internet-speak”, “OMG!” That vote incentive pic is AWESOME! I now have a new desktop wallpaper for my netbook (previous was the old vote incentive) …
And wow; a Vote Button and the promise of new incentives, and your ranking on TWC has already jumped from about 35 to 14 (currently). I know you’ve said in the past that the TWC ranking doesn’t bring you as much new readership and ad clicks and such as you’d like, but your rank there is a point of pride for us, your loyal and devoted readers, so thank you for your efforts!

I’ve split a couple of rocks in my day, a simple “CRACK!” would do for that, unless you want hissing from some kind of energy field around the sword doing the slicing. Wings will do some kind of “swoosh” and popping type of sound themselves. I’m thinking the sound of a sail when you tack and the momentarily slightly slack sails catch the wind. Sorry, it has been a few decades since I did my time sailing. Steal it from any number of movies about dragons.

The start of a new month (thus resetting all the monthly stats) helps too; I’d forgotten that factor during my earlier post …
Still, this is a good time to grab a higher ranking and hang on for dear life …

As I said above, our average for last month was one vote every 40 minutes. Currently, our average just for today has been one vote every 150 seconds (approximately one vote every 2 minutes 30 seconds). That’s a SERIOUS stat boost!

Hmm, I vote no sound effects too, but I think the poses need a tiny bit of work. I’d suggest throwing Alex’s left arm back and possibly bending his right leg at the knee a bit more.

As far as Nic goes, rather then posing his wings at the bottom of the downstroke, I’d suggest moving the wrists up and angling the wingtips forward towards the beginning of an upstroke. Since he’s obviously just jump-launched off the rock, his wings would be moving upwards for a more efficient take-off. Also, I’d rotate his legs at the hips a little so his knees don’t angle in, and angle his arms at the shoulders at a sharper angle away from his body whilst bending them at the elbows a little more. Perhaps with his left arm crossed in front of him. As the left is now, it seems to be conflicting with the left wing.

Yeah, I know I’m being bossy, but that’s how I roll! Use the Marvel Method, Scott! Yay!

I agree with adiesin but I say that you should save the sound effect for the next page, giving a “faster than the speed of sound” feel to it. “Dooj!” would be a good SXF also. The WT- BOOM would be my favorite.

I also think the page works best without a sound effect. Heck, this whole fight scene seems like it’d be best left silent until something BIG happens – the first major hit scored by either combatant seems like a good place for that.

I can see why the competitive aspects of this could be a bit of a downer – especially when you’re not coming out on top. You still got around 27% of the readers ‘pushing the button’ to vote. Maybe you should think of it this way: three out of four readers are so blown away by your strip today, they couldn’t bear to click on a link that would take them away from it.

In an unrelated comment, ran across something you might find interesting. Lionel Trains has put out a CGI animated video billed as Family Entertainment. “Lionelville: Destination Adventure” is the story of what happens when you combine Lionel Trains, radical new technology, industrial espionage, a rift in the space time continuum, and a world “Where Dreams Come Alive”.

There’s elements of a classic quest, a family hoping to be reunited, bad guys doing their thing, a genius inventor type trying to redeem himself, and lots and lots of trains. It’s being sold through Lionel dealers and Walmart; you can find copies of the DVD on eBay and Amazon.

Be advised, it has one problem – it ends with a cliff hanger! There had better be a sequel in the works or I’m going to be really upset. I enjoyed it, and so did the person I loaned it to over the weekend. You can check out trailers and other bits here: http://www.lionelville.com/

Sorry, Scott, but based on past numbers, I sort of expected this to happen. (That would be why I made the comment, “I know you’ve said in the past that the TWC ranking doesn’t bring you as much new readership and ad clicks and such as you’d like, but your rank there is a point of pride for us, your loyal and devoted readers, so thank you for your efforts!”)

PLEASE, don’t be discouraged!

I read several webcomics now (not dozens like some people, but enough for comparisons). Of the ones I read, a half dozen or so run vote incentives on TWC. Out of those, your vote incentives are by far the best; the rest don’t even come close. And for the record, I recently archive-binged through to the current Phoenix Requiem, and I vote for Sarah only when that comic is updated. Her vote incentives (and art in general) are very good, but in my not-quite-humble-enough opinion, yours are better.

(Just out of curiosity, how did Sarah respond to your query about her numbers?)

So it seems likely to me that your second supposition is far more likely – most of your readers only read the comic itself. You know, now that I think about it, I bet the same thing is probably true for Sarah: Phoenix Requiem doesn’t have a comment section, and her vote button (at least the one I’ve seen) is on the current comic page, or just after it if you’re clicking “Next” through the archive. So I would guess that most of her readers never read her blog or participate in her forums either – they just read the comic, see the vote button, and click it.

So as I see it, you have two options: you can be satisfied with things as they are, and use the vote incentives as a reward for the most loyal of loyal fans, we few that regularly submit comments, read blogs, and vote whether the incentive is changed or not; or you can experiment with some layout changes, and put a vote button where people will see it before or at the same time as the comic. (Maybe add it to the control bar, or whatever you call it, near the new Bookmark tool?)

Either way, we happy few will be here for you, still reading, still voting, and still posting words of encouragement whenever and wherever we feel that you need them. Some of us *cough* may not be in a position to support you financially right now (at least not yet), but at least we can offer emotional support.

(So, is your fragile ego sufficiently splinted, or do I need to throw more words at you? That’s what I thought … )

I don’t vote for incentives. I vote because I like your comic. When I see a vote button, I vote. When I don’t see it, I usually don’t think about it. I think if you just put that little button somewhere on the page where people who just read the comic will notice it, your ranking will go up a lot, even without incentives. Don’t feel like it’s selling out or pandering for votes. It’s very standard for webcomics to have the button where people will see it. You don’t have to call lots of attention to it or beg for votes.

Also, this stuff takes a little time. Don’t be too frustrated if you put up a button or an incentive and it doesn’t take off the first day.

Just have to say, I’m really enjoying the comic. Found it… last week, read through the entire archive and am now checking it every day for updates. As for this one, I don’t think any sound is required, my brain, at least, added it subconsciously. Oh, and I did vote as soon as I noticed the option. Love the wallpaper.

I voted, I encourage others to do so. I offer my wit, wisdom and spare time because I love the creations you make.

To put it bluntly, people are sheep.

Sorry for the rudeness, but when you hint, there will be people who won’t get it. When you ask, there will be people who hate you for the mere act of it. When you offer things as a promise you will get ingrates who rail against you for making them hostages to your demands.

These will be the vocal minority.

The majority are simply looking to click, enjoy and leave. No payment, no buying, no fandom.

If you truly want to hit the heights of the list with your full readership… Put the finale to this battle exclusively as a voter reward. If you want to be nicer (and a bit more of a salesman) offer it as a preview. Next week’s ending … TODAY!!

xD Crazeyal that’s priceless lol and I’m sure Scott appreciates it greatly
(Side note I think everyone has their own issue and is vain about something and I wouldn’t sue you I might just give you a hug )